Community Member: We your community bless you and thank you for leading us in prayer today.

Opening Song: Room at the Table

LEADER: The grace of
Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of
you.

ALL: And also with you

LEADER: Let us
welcome one another with a sign of peace.

Call to Prayer

LEADER: In every
generation, like Mary of Magdala, women have and continue to faithfully and
generously respond to the call to serve God and God’s holy people. They have
been apostles and disciples, leaders, preachers, educators, counselors,
musicians, artists, writers, comforters, pastoral ministers, chaplains and yes,
priestly people offering their gifts to the Body of Christ.

Yet, our Church now suffers a
poverty of spirit brought about by the exclusion of women from full
participation in the life, ministry, and leadership of the church.

Today, we women and men, sisters
and brothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles, mothers and
fathers, godparents – members of the Body of Christ -- gather together as one
family to pray for a Church, modeled on the inclusive practices of Jesus and
Saint Paul, that is truly alive with the gifts, spirit and potential of all its
members.

SIDE A: We gather in
thanksgiving for and celebration of Mary of Magdala and countless other women
who came before us – our foremothers in faith -- whose too often forgotten
stories instruct and inspire us.

SIDE B: We gather in solidarity
with the women of today whose demands for justice and inclusion call us to
conversation.

ALL: We gather in hope for our
daughters, the next generation, whose God-given possibility and potential compels
us to work for a Church for Our Daughters.

Opening Prayer

LEADER: Let us pray

Good and Loving God, Creator of
women and men in your own image,

ALL: Create in us and in our
Church a desire for the wholeness you planned;

LEADER: Word made
flesh and born of a woman,

ALL: Empower us that we, like
Mary of Magdala, may hear and proclaim Your redeeming truth

LEADER: Spirit
companion of women throughout space and time,

ALL: Guide us as we work to
build a Church for our daughters, AMEN.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading:A Reading by Christine Schenk in
Catholic Women Speak

Contemporary biblical scholarship
has uncovered important roles held by women in the early Jesus movement. Luke
tells us that Mary of Magdala, Joanna, Susanna and many other women accompanied
Jesus and ministered with him in Galilee. Yet this Lukan reading is rarely
heard on Sunday. Mary of Magdala’s commissioning to “go and tell my brothers”
that Jesus has risen does not appear on Easter or on any Sunday in the Easter
Season in the United States but is relegated to Easter Tuesday.

St. Paul worked closely with
women leaders like Phoebe, Junia, Lydia, and Prisca. Unfortunately, Romans 16,
a passage that names ten women and identifies some of them as deacons,
apostles, and coworkers, is never proclaimed on a Sunday. Nor are the accounts
of women leaders in the Acts of the Apostles.

And where are the biblical
stories of the strong women leaders of salvation history? Couldn’t we include
the story of Shiprah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives who saved a nation of boy
children, perhaps even Moses, by defying Pharaoh’s law to kill all male infants
born to enslaved Hebrews?

Proclaiming Lectionary texts that
exclude or distort the witness of women, particularly in a church where all
priestly liturgical leadership is male, is dangerous for our daughters and our
sons. Young girls can hardly avoid internalizing the notion that God must have
created them less important than their brothers. If all-male liturgical
leadership and Sunday Lectionary readings are subtly seeding subordination in
our daughters, what is being planted in our sons?

These are the inspired words of
Christine Schenk

All:We receive them with open hearts and minds

Second Reading:A reading from Vision and Viewpoint by Joan Chittister

If
I were pressed to say why I love him,” Montaigne wrote of his deceased friend
Etienne de Boetie, “I feel my only reply could be, ‘Because it was he, because
it was I.’” Friendship, real friendship, in other words, is the blurring
of two souls into one where it was thought two had been. No price exacted. No
interest paid.
Friendship is the linking of stories. It is a spiritual act, not a social one.
It is the finding of the remainder of the self. It is knowing a person before
you even meet them. I am not so sure, then, that we so much find a friend as it
is that friendship, the deathless search of the soul for itself, finds us. Then
the memory of Mary Magdalene becomes clear, becomes the bellwether of the real
relationship.

Mary Magdalene is the woman whom scripture calls by name in a time when women
were seldom named in public documents at all. She is, in fact, named fourteen
times—more than any other woman in the New Testament except Mary of Nazareth,
the mother of Jesus, herself. She is clearly a very important, and apparently a
very wealthy woman. Most of all, she understood who Jesus was long before
anyone else did and she supported him in his wild, free ranging, revolutionary
approach to life and state and synagogue. She was, it seems, the leader of a
group of women who “supported Jesus out of their own resources.” And she never
left his side for the rest of his life.

She was there at the beginning of the ministry. And she was there at the end.
She was there when they were following him in cheering throngs. And she was
there when they were taking his entire life, dashing it against the stone of
synagogue and state, turning on him, jeering at him, shouting for his death,
standing by while soldiers poked and prodded him to ignominy. She tended his
grave and shouted his dying glory and clung to his soul. She knew him and she
did not flinch from the knowing.

The Magdalene factor in friendship is the ability to know everything there is
to know about a person, to celebrate their fortunes, to weather their straits,
to chance their enemies, to accompany them in their pain and to be faithful to
the end, whatever its glory, whatever its grief. The Magdalene factor is
intimacy, that unshakeable immersion in the life of the other to the peak of ecstasy,
to the depths of hell.

These are the inspired words of Joan Chittister

All:We receive them with open hearts and
minds

Shared Homily

STATEMENT OF FAITH; EUCHARISTIC PRAYER – Celebration
of Women as leaders and

STATEMENT OF FAITHFULNESS

I
believe in one God, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.

I believe in Jesus, messenger of God's Word,
bringer of God's healing, heart of God's compassion,
bright star in the firmament of God's
prophets, mystics, and saints.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the life of God that is our innermost life,
the breath of God moving in our being,
the depth of God living in each of us.

I believe that I am called to be Jesus' twin,
allowing myself to be a vehicle of God's love,
a source of God's wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of God's peace in the world.

I believe that God's reign is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen,

I believe in the community of God seekers
in all the religions, as well as outside of them,
the great prophets, mystics, and saints,
and those just beginning their spiritual journey.

I believe in a future on this earth when all
will be God-centered and God-conscious,
when we will learn to live in love and peace,
in the fellowship of brothers and sisters.

I believe that in death, life is changed,
not taken away, and that we will go
from step to step in God's life, God's love.
and God's glory for all eternity. Amen

WE BRING TO THE TABLE

PRESIDER 1: Mother, Sophia, Divine Spirit that lives
with and through our lives, we bring these needs, thoughts, joys, and sorrows
to the table of our human beingness and your wonder light:

Please share if you want,
your thoughts and needs within our community…

PRESIDER 2:In gratitude for your amazing love and
care of each of us, in wonder for your attention to our needs, we thank you and
know that you bend down to hear our prayers in holiness and love.

AMEN.

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER:

PRESIDER
1:Our Eucharistic Prayer is
shared by all. Please, if you feel comfortable, say it with us in communal
harmony as we bring our very selves to this place of holiness that we help to
create.

PRESIDER
2:We lay our stoles on the table
in preparation and presentation of our community spirit.Together, as we represent our lives, we
give of ourselves as our Holy Creator gives her very self to us…

Adapted
from the liturgy by Bridget Mary Meehan

ALL:It is right that we give you thanks and
praise, loving God. You created this world, that you called good, and invited
us to become its stewards. Even when we betrayed your trust, you chose to call
us back to yourself, over and over again.

Your
Word has been spoken throughout human history through those you called as
prophets – especially Mary of Magdala and other women and men whom we would
disregard, but whom you empowered with your passion for our salvation.

As
we gather around this table, we once again recall your breaking into our world,
for our redemption, and your calling forth unlikely prophets to reveal your
truth.

In
joyful thanksgiving for your constant, faithful love, we join our voices in an
unending hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker

You
gave us Jesus, who walked among us, trying to teach us to see as you see, to
love as you love, to be as you are. Jesus listened to the cries of the people,
aching for freedom. He healed those bound by cruel disease.

He
answered those who were burdened with questions. He challenged those enslaved
by the law to understand its true meaning. He fed those who hungered, and
awakened deeper thirsts.

He
gathered a community around him, women like his friend Mary, and other close
friends with whom he shared all that God made known to him. It was with these
dear to him that Jesus shared a friendship meal.

As
we come together in memory of that meal, we pray that Your Spirit will come
upon these gifts and upon us, that we may become the body and blood of Christ.

(pause
as bread is lifted)

We
remember how, on the night before he died, Jesus was at table with those he
loved. He took bread and blessed you, God of all creation. He broke the bread
shared it with his friends and said, "Take this, all of you and eat it.
This is my body which will be given up for you."

(pause
as wine is lifted)

Then
he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered them the wine:

“take
and drink the covenant renewed in my blood, for you and for everyone, that all
captivity may cease. When you do this you remember me.”

(pause)

Gracious
God, we celebrate this feast in memory of Jesus, our brother. We honor the
memory of those who shared his earthly ministry, were last at the cross and
first at the tomb, and became the first bearers of the Christian tradition.
This tradition has been passed through the ages and is now entrusted to us. We
treasure our faith in the new life birthed in us.

God
Most Holy, keep us faithful to your Word alive in us. Help us to hear your
voice calling each of us to discipleship and to service in your name.
Strengthen us to follow your call, despite sanction, ridicule, and rules that
may seem to limit the possibilities before us.

We
will do the work of compassion and justice so that all women and men can
approach each other as equals, living in the light of your constant care.

PRESIDER
2:Let us join together as we make
our prayer as Jesus did:

Gracious
God, creating all around us;

Respectfully,
we celebrate our mutual existence.

Beautiful
green earth life happens here and everywhere.

Since
we have everything we need right here, we can share with each other

And
green earth life can be less painful and more healing.

For
it is through us, with us, in us, in our unity, creating with you, Gracious
God, today and always.

ALL:
Glory to God! As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen.

PRESIDER
2:Let us offer each other a sign
of the Peace that Jesus shares with us.

LITANY FOR THE BREAKING OF BREAD

ALL:

Loving God, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and
justice. We will live justly.

Loving God, You call us to be Your presence in the world. We
will love tenderly

Loving God, You call us to speak truth to power. We will
walk with integrity in your presence.

SHARING OF THE MEAL:

PRESIDER
1: Let us share the deep reality
of universal communion. Let us eat and drink deeply of Passover and self-giving
love. Give glory to the living God whose covenant with us we have experienced
in Jesus. All are invited to partake of this sacred banquet of love.

ALL:Jesus, you
invite us to receive you and become you for others. We are the Body of Christ.
May the Source of Life whose power now at work in us can do immeasurably more
than we can ask or imagine, be given glory through all generations. Amen

DISTRIBUTION OF BREAD AND WINE: You are the Body of Christ.
You are the Blood of Christ.

Communion Song: One Bread, One Body

Closing Prayer

LEADER: My friends,
as we go forth into the world to help build a Church for our daughters, we
reflect on the courage, faithfulness, and ministry of Mary of Magdala and call
upon our good and loving God to bless us for the work ahead

LEADER: Mary of
Magdala traveled with Jesus and the other disciples in a small community,
learning about God’s new reign of justice and love.

ALL: God of Wisdom, lead us to
that community of faith where we too can learn and grow.

LEADER: Mary and the
other disciples persevered with Jesus, even when he was persecuted by his own
religious leadership and government authorities.

ALL: God of Strength, help us
stand in Jesus’ truth and healing love especially when we experience
persecution for justice’s sake.

LEADER: Jesus sent
Mary to proclaim the Good News to the Apostles even though they would not
believe them.

ALL: Rabboni, teach us how to
proclaim the miracle of your Risen love in a disbelieving world.

LEADER: Because of
her witness, Mary of Magdala is known as the Apostle to the Apostles.

ALL: Help us, O God, to accept
our apostolic call to go and tell our brothers and sisters of Jesus’ power to
heal, even wounded structures which exclude.

LEADER: Today, women
are called to discipleship and leadership in our Church and faith communities.

ALL: Healing Spirit, help our
Church welcome the women leaders and ministers you send us today.

LEADER: That our
daughters may know radical inclusion and justice, equality without
qualification, and a Church institution that transforms oppression into love
without bounds

ALL: Spirit of Transformation,
guide us as we work to build a Church for our daughters.

Blessing

LEADER: And may God bless us who is
Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Compassion is bringing the pain of others into our hearts and loving each person in the heart of God.

In the depths of our souls, we are full of God and full of love.

Gregory Boyle writes, "Be compassion as God is compassionate means dismantling barriers that exclude." (Tattoos in the Heart)In our Roman Catholic Women Priests' Movement, there is a room at the table of sacramental celebrations for everyone. Our hallmark is inclusivity.

The first thing that overwhelms and astonishes someone who has never set
foot in the Vatican – I already knew Rome but I had always refused to visit the
manly Vatican State - is its stony, gray material and its elliptical design
that provides a sense of grandeur for what, in the end, is nothing but a small
plaza with supports, as they would say in my country.

My partner Janice Sevre-Duszynska and I arrived on an overwhelmingly hot Saturday, with
lodgings and a mutual search through the streets of Trastevere to stop where we
were dining. It is so important to see each other face to face in order to love
and appreciate each other.I had
met her briefly in Pennsylvania at the ordination of the bishops.

Before I met her I had time to savor a Eucharist celebrated in Santa
Maria in Trastevere, according to the rite of Saint John Chrysostom, a liturgy
that I had studied at the faculty but had not ever heard sung. It sounded like
a beautiful God who works his way in deeply, yet one who is at the same time distant
and tremendous; one cooked up by a few men who understood those elaborate rites
and who served up the result of their liturgical labors. I was only able to
contribute my ears, an attentive heart and my sense of Mediterranean irony
about how far my dear and beloved community was, the one where we can smell
each other, see each other's eyes and share parts of our lives and even sometimes
give each other the flu and the joy of a good snack ... although it is true
that we do not sing so well.

During those Roman days, the feeling of time travel was always present,
with questions about whether it was the classical, high medieval, late medieval
period... maybe, but not much more. It was entering the Trastevere and feeling
transported far away. At the same time, with open eyes, I would occasionally
mumble: "Here and now I'm a priest and that will never change." Whenever
I met with my partner Janice every morning in the garden of the inn for
breakfast, the certainty was complete because one person may have hallucinations
but not two of them. Perhaps that is why the Lord commanded his disciples to go
in groups of two...

One day she came with a large envelope in her hand, it was a Tuesday,
the eve of the jubilee of the priests, and said "Today we are going to the
Vatican." In that pilgrimage we were both witnesses to the presence and
light of the other, materialized, sweaty, not as well-groomed as we would have
liked, or hungry, or jumping for joy. On that day we felt carried on the
shoulders of a thousand generations of women of God who snuggled us; we were
remembering their names as we walked through the courtyard of the building of
the Curia. We did not miss the joke about the establishment of the firefighters,
on the patio we were crossing: "If a single spark of the fire of the
Spirit lights up, they will put it out, just in case," I joked.

From eleven o'clock until 6:30 pm we were walking and looking, standing
in line under a sun of justice, being checked, registered and guided, at times
misguided as in a twisted treasure hunt... until, at last, to the office where
we were received, with love and respect, -again I repeat to myself, "here
and now, in the heart of what was and is the center of the Christian world, we
are clergywomen and we occupy these seats in peace." I will always remember that trio who understood
each other in Spanish and English. I have in mind Janice’s testimony, her plea
for our cause that is not ours but that of the motherly Ruah, her evoking of
many friends’ names and faces before the Monsignor, always attentive and
responsive, Janice reeled them off like a litany, I was struck by your face, Janice,
my companion, full of love and hope, I will never forget it. The great Lady
Magdalene was also coming up. A few days later her celebration would be
officially proclaimed as a feast day and no longer as a memory, one more saint
in pantheon. We will never know if our visit had any influence on this, what
matters is our joy that it happened.

While Janice was providing her details in the role designed to
facilitate the task of Francis if he decided to call us, and I expected my turn
to provide mine, I spoke with our host. In our common mother tongue I told him
how I felt about receiving such a big punishment only for wanting to serve the
Lord and his people; among other things, I said "that cannot be punished
just because we are women."

The next day, at the Jubilee Mass of the priests in St. Peter's Square, during
communion I remembered and gave thanks. They knew we were there; Janice and I
had our albs on, purple scarves that were gifts of the WOW women to alleviate
the confiscation of our stoles by police just before entering. They knew who we
were and they gave us communion. This data will be recorded in history and will
not also be deleted. I said to the television that from that moment I considered
my latent excommunication to be eliminated, and that of all my companions. I
felt a complete reconciliation, also in the spiritual dimension.

I also felt the length and difficulty of the path that lies ahead of us.
When my daughter asks me from Spain if all goes well I say "they just took
away our stoles" and she says "Mom, it is not as if they were
guns!" This is how it is; the men of stone understand stoles as
instruments of power, that is why they cannot allow us to use them, and they are
angry because in our ordinations we can be seen with the stole over the
chasuble. Someone recently told me "that's not right." True, it is
not liturgical but is it liturgical to usurp the power and place of the Lord
when He is the one who celebrates and calls us? Is it lawful? These and more
questions give an idea of ​​everything we need to dust, clean, polish, renew
and perhaps discard. What does not work to serve, simply does not work.

At Mass, while I concelebrated strictly following the brochure and
joining in prayer with the people present, from the last chair near ours, to
the top of all the scaffolding, and also with those people who were absent, both
alive and dead, I felt in communion despite it all. I am aware, sisters, that
we have come a long way and we are light years ahead of all the institutional
trappings anchored in the stone of its massive gray and sad columns; but I feel
able even of loving that church, as one loves a grandmother of years and
memories, who loses her marbles and gives you the dessert fork to eat the soup.
You smile and you get up to find the spoon. These people are neither worse nor
better than we are.

I did not attend the Mass as an activist without further ado, my
intention was to act from the heart and from my faith, so I did and, I confess,
I felt homesick and wanted to be received as a daughter and sister because there
we would fill everything with flowers, we would remove the barriers and the guards,
we would figure out how to plant trees so that people could be in the shade and
even lie on the grass for snacks and to talk. We would find a way for people to
participate and make their voices heard in the celebrations. We would organize right
there, where our martyrs gave their lives, some talks and discussion groups,
social gatherings and circles always open on issues of life and faith, social
and political, with coffee and rolls and water available and also daycare and catechesis
for the children. You would hear upbeat music and NOBODY, EVER AGAIN, would be
excluded. And you know what? If not there it will happen elsewhere; it is happening
and they are missing it all.

The Kindom has already approached us and it has come to stay.

Thank you sisters for your support, for your prayers and your
confidence, for having facilitated in so many ways these moments and this story;
we have all been in Rome, I attest to that. Thank you also to the sisters and
brothers in heaven whom we have called upon and who have responded.

Thank you, Janice, my teacher, may your light continue to shine, I have
not finished learning all you have to teach but give me time. It was a fully
shared sisterhood. A treasure.

Thank you Divine Mother, because at no time did your care and
encouragement fail us. Thank you because you love us and that alone is true.